Bimaximal Mixings from the Texture of the Right-handed Majorana Neutrino Mass Matrix

We study the origin of neutrino masses and mixing angles which can accomodate the LMA MSW solutions of the solar neutrino anomaly as well as the solution of the atmospheric neutrino problem, within the framework of the see-saw mechanism. We employ the diagonal form of the Dirac neutrino mass matrices with the physical masses as diagonal elements in the hierarchical order. Such choice has been motivated from the fact that the known CKM angles for the quark sector, are relatively small. We consider both possibilities where the Dirac neutrino mass matrix is either the charged lepton or the up-quark mass matrix within the framework of SO(10) GUT with or without supersymmetry. The non-zero texture of the right-handed Majorana neutrino mass matrix $M_{R}$ is used for the generation of the desired bimaximal mixings in a model independent way. Both hierarchical and inverted hierarchical models of the left-handed Majorana neutrino mass matrices are generated and then discussed with examples

Numerical consistency check between two approaches to radiative corrections for neutrino masses and mixings

We briefly outline the two popular approaches on radiative corrections to neutrino masses and mixing angles, and then carry out a detailed numerical analysis for a consistency check between them in MSSM. We find that the two approaches are nearly consistent with a small discrepancy of a factor of 13 percent in mass eigenvalues at low energy scale, but the predictions on mixing angles are almost consistent. We check the stability of the three types of neutrino models, i.e., hierarchical, inverted hierarchical and degenerate models, under radiative corrections, using both approaches, and find consistent conclusions. The neutrino mass models which are found to be stable under radiative corrections in MSSM are the normal hierarchical model and the inverted hierarchical model with opposite CP parity. We also carry out numerical analysis on some important conjectures related to radiative corrections in MSSM, viz., radiative magnification of solar and atmospheric mixings in case of nearly degenerate model having same CP parity (MPR conjecture) and radiative generation of solar mass scale in exactly two-fold degenerate model with opposite CP parity and non-zero reactor angle (JM conjecture). We observe certain exceptions to these conjectures. Finally the effect of scale-dependent vacuum expectation value in neutrino mass renormalisation is discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures,references added, typos corrected and text modifie

New Uncertainties in QCD-QED Rescaling Factors using Quadrature Method

In this paper we briefly outline the quadrature method for estimating uncertainties in a function of several variables and apply it to estimate the numerical uncertainties in QCD-QED rescaling factors. We employ here the one-loop order in QED and three-loop order in QCD evolution equations of fermion mass renormalization. Our present calculations are found to be new and also reliable compared to the earlier values employed by various authors.Comment: 14 page

Use of an Anaerobic Chamber Environment for the Assay of Endogenous Cellular Protein-Tyrosine Phosphatase Activities

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) have a catalytic cysteine residue whose reduced state is integral to the reaction mechanism. Since exposure to air can artifactually oxidize this highly reactive thiol, PTPase assays have typically used potent reducing agents to reactivate the enzymes present; however, this approach does not allow for the measurement of the endogenous PTPase activity directly isolated from the in vivo cellular environment. Here we provide a method for using an anaerobic chamber to preserve the activity of the total PTPase complement in a tissue lysate or of an immunoprecipitated PTPase homolog to characterize their endogenous activation state. Comparison with a sample treated with biochemical reducing agents allows the determination of the activatable (reducible) fraction of the endogenous PTPase pool

Increased clonal hematopoiesis involving DNA damage response genes in patients undergoing lung transplantation

BACKGROUNDCellular stressors influence the development of clonal hematopoiesis (CH). We hypothesized that environmental, inflammatory, and genotoxic stresses drive the emergence of CH in lung transplant recipients. METHODSWe performed a cross-sectional cohort study of 85 lung transplant recipients to characterize CH prevalence. We evaluated somatic variants using duplex error-corrected sequencing and germline variants using whole exome sequencing. We evaluated CH frequency and burden using χ2 and Poisson regression, and we evaluated associations with clinical and demographic variables and clinical outcomes using χ2, logistic regression, and Cox regression. RESULTSCH in DNA damage response (DDR) genes TP53, PPM1D, and ATM was increased in transplant recipients compared with a control group of older adults (28% versus 0%, adjusted OR [aOR], 12.9 [1.7-100.3], P = 0.0002). Age (OR, 1.13 [1.03-1.25], P = 0.014) and smoking history (OR 4.25 [1.02-17.82], P = 0.048) were associated with DDR CH. Germline variants predisposing to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis were identified but not associated with CH. DDR CH was associated with increased cytomegalovirus viremia versus patients with no (OR, 7.23 [1.95-26.8], P = 0.018) or non-DDR CH (OR, 7.64 [1.77-32.89], P = 0.024) and mycophenolate discontinuation (aOR, 3.8 [1.3-12.9], P = 0.031). CONCLUSIONCH in DDR genes is prevalent in lung transplant recipients and is associated with posttransplant outcomes including cytomegalovirus activation and mycophenolate intolerance. FUNDINGNIH/NHLBI K01HL155231 (LKT), R25HL105400 (LKT), Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital (LKT), Evans MDS Center at Washington University (KAO, MJW), ASH Scholar Award (KAO), NIH K12CA167540 (KAO), NIH P01AI116501 (AEG, DK), NIH R01HL094601 (AEG), and NIH P01CA101937 (DCL)

Atherosclerosis in Indigenous Tsimane: A Contemporary Perspective

The Horus and other research teams have found that atherosclerosis is not uncommon in ancient people through the study of their mummified remains (Murphy et al., 2003; Allam et al., 2009, 2011; Thompson et al., 2013, 2014). However, some have postulated that traditional hunter-gatherers are in some ways healthier than modern people and that they had very little atherosclerotic disease (O’Keefe et al., 2010). The aim of this study was to evaluate the burden of atherosclerosis in a population alive today but living a traditional lifestyle similar to that experienced by past populations. This led to the Tsimane Health and Life History Project Team (THLHP) (Gurven et al., 2017) and the Horus Study Team combining efforts to evaluate the prevalence and extent of coronary atherosclerosis in the Tsimane of Bolivia (Kaplan et al., 2017)

Fabrication of Customized Sectional Impression Trays in Management of Patients with Limited Mouth Opening: A Simple and Unique Approach

Impression making is not only important but is also the most significant step in the fabrication of any fixed or removable prosthesis. Proper impression making may be hindered by certain pathologic conditions. Reduced mouth opening is one of the common mechanical obstructions for proper orientation of the impression tray in the patient's mouth. In patients with trismus induced by submucous fibrosis, the procedure may be even more difficult to carry out because of reduced tissue resiliency and obliteration of vestibular spaces. Use of sectional trays offers one of the alternatives to overcome the problem of restricted mouth opening. Fabrication of customized impression trays according to the patient dentition improves the accuracy of impression making. The present case reports describe the fabrication of sectional custom trays designed for dentulous patients with chronic tobacco-induced submucous fibrosis

Multi-omics of the gut microbial ecosystem in inflammatory bowel diseases.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, which include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affect several million individuals worldwide. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are complex diseases that are heterogeneous at the clinical, immunological, molecular, genetic, and microbial levels. Individual contributing factors have been the focus of extensive research. As part of the Integrative Human Microbiome Project (HMP2 or iHMP), we followed 132 subjects for one year each to generate integrated longitudinal molecular profiles of host and microbial activity during disease (up to 24 time points each; in total 2,965 stool, biopsy, and blood specimens). Here we present the results, which provide a comprehensive view of functional dysbiosis in the gut microbiome during inflammatory bowel disease activity. We demonstrate a characteristic increase in facultative anaerobes at the expense of obligate anaerobes, as well as molecular disruptions in microbial transcription (for example, among clostridia), metabolite pools (acylcarnitines, bile acids, and short-chain fatty acids), and levels of antibodies in host serum. Periods of disease activity were also marked by increases in temporal variability, with characteristic taxonomic, functional, and biochemical shifts. Finally, integrative analysis identified microbial, biochemical, and host factors central to this dysregulation. The study's infrastructure resources, results, and data, which are available through the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Multi'omics Database ( http://ibdmdb.org ), provide the most comprehensive description to date of host and microbial activities in inflammatory bowel diseases